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Most Wall Street experts are far better equipped to analyze corporate risks rather than political ones. But today, it's political unrest in the Middle East and beyond that's driving world markets. So we asked Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy The Eurasia Group, to break down the major developments and what investors should expect.

Stocks closed broadly if modestly higher Friday on light volume as traders avoided making any big bets ahead of a long holiday weekend. The equity markets closed up for the third straight day and extended their winning ways to a third consecutive week.

Leaders of 20 major economies on Friday refused to back a U.S. push to make China boost its currency's value. That will keep alive a dispute that raises fears of a global trade war amid criticism that cheap Chinese exports are costing American jobs.

The leaders of the 20 major economies failed to back a U.S. plan intended to push China to let its currency strengthen.
The leaders released a statement in which all countries pledged to avoid "competitive devaluation" of currencies, The Associated Press said.

For a host of reasons, other countries would love to free their economies from the stranglehold of the U.S. dollar's influence, especially now, when the Fed's stimulus actions are pushing the dollar lower, and everything else higher. Global finance expert Peter Cohan has a simple answer: The Mondo.

As the G-20 meets in South Korea, many world leaders have stepped up their complaints about the Fed's $600 billion quantitative easing program, as well as the rapid flow of capital into emerging markets. Some countries are installing capital controls in response, but those won't be enough, says global finance expert Peter Cohan.

On the eve of an economic summit in South Korea, disturbing signs of discord are emerging over currency valuations and trade between the U.S. and its major trading partners. Failure to achieve an agreement could set off more "currency wars."

The U.S. finds itself on the wrong side of the currency manipulation argument this week, as many G20 countries criticize the Fed's $600 billion bond buying plan, which could further devalue the dollar. World leaders say the move breaks the vow of unity made during the last G-20 summit.

The U.S. will not weaken the dollar in order to boost its exports, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner promised.
"It is not going to happen in this country," Geithner told Silicon Valley business leaders of devaluing the dollar, according to Reuters.

Europe's parliament on Wednesday approved world's toughest limits on bankers' bonuses, a move likely to fuel demands for similar curbs in the United States. But are these measures enough to limit excessive risk-taking at too-big-to-fail financial institutions and avert another meltdown?

BP CEO Tony Hayward is traveling to Moscow to meet with Igor Sechin, a top deputy to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The meeting comes as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is calling for a levy on oil companies to finance a fund to pay for cleaning up the industry's environmental disasters.

Putting a united face on a divisive issue, the G-20 leaders meeting in Toronto agreed on Sunday to a schedule for reducing their budget gaps. The agreement doesn't entail hard deadlines. Rather, it sets up as a goal that the nations will cut their deficits in half by 2013.

It's hard to top American politicians when it comes to strong-arming other countries about economic policy. The G-20 summit, where a showdown is brewing most pointedly between American and German camps, offers the latest vivid example.

President Obama said Friday that the financial reform deal struck by members of a congressional conference committee will "strengthen our economy" and protect consumers from the excesses of the financial system.

Ahead of the G-20 summit in Toronto this weekend, billionaire investor George Soros is warning that Germany's policy of fiscal austerity is a danger to Europe that could destroy the euro and fracture the European Union.

Canada is footing a huge bill to host the G-8 and G-20 summits in Huntsville, Ontario and Toronto on June 25-27. Still, the U.S. has issued a travel alert for Americans traveling to Toronto, angering Canadians across the country.

The International Monetary Fund is projecting that the world economy will emerge from its coma this year. Its World Economic Outlook forecasts global growth of 4.2% in 2010 after a 0.6% decline in 2009, the worst year since World War II. But "the outlook remains unusually uncertain" the IMF says.